Hall of Fame announces 17 finalists for Class of 2011

Jerome Bettis, Marshall Faulk, Curtis Martin, Willie Roaf and Deion Sanders -- the five players in their first year of eligibility for the Pro Football Hall of Fame -- will be among 15 modern-era finalists considered for election when the 44-member selection committee meets Feb. 5 in North Texas.

Joining the five first-year-eligible players are nine other modern-era players and one contributor.

Two senior nominees, announced last August, also will be considered.

A finalist must receive a minimum positive vote of 80 percent to be elected.

To be eligible for election, modern-era players and coaches must be retired at least five years. Contributors need not be retired.

Brown, Carter, Dawson, Dent, Haley, Kennedy, Reed and Sharpe all have been finalists in previous years. This is the first time that Doleman, Hanburger, Richter, and Sabol have been finalists, although they were eligible in previous years.

Hanburger and Richter were selected as candidates by the Hall of Fame's seniors committee, which reviews the qualifications of players whose careers took place more than 25 years ago.

The selection committee will meet in North Texas the day before Super Bowl XLV to elect the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2011. The election results will be announced at 7 p.m. ET on Feb. 5 during a one-hour NFL Network special, live from the Super Bowl media headquarters.

Although there isn't a set number of enshrinees for any class, the Pro Football Hall of Fame's current ground rules stipulate that between four and seven new members will be selected each year. No more than five modern-era nominees can be elected in a given year, and a class of six or seven can only be achieved if one or both senior nominees are elected.